Friend or Foe
by keikoutou
Summary: Friendship fic btwn Trunks and Goten. Most definitely AU. Trunks is ordered to capture Goten. However, delays of Trunks' master forces him to stay with Goten until his master returns. As time goes by, is this a friendship developing between the two? What
1. Introducing: Stalker and Stalkee

Disclaimer: *Sigh*. How I wish I owned Dragonballz. (In other words, I don't.)  
  
A/N: Nothing really to say other than that this is my first DBZ fic. Please don't be too hard on me if u review! Thankies. Cyber cookie to all those who DO review! ^_^  
  
::CHAPTER ONE:: ~Introducing: Stalker and Stalkee~  
  
Son Goten never was a man of excitement. An average looking man in his early 20s, Goten was perfectly content with his peaceful, if not a bit lonely, life. Sure, he missed socializing with others, but Goten could deal with it. Besides, there was the occasional friendly visits (okay, so he admitted just sitting and talking politely about the weather all day, sipping tea, wasn't really his type of friendly but that was beside the point) once in a while. The black haired youth whistled cheerfully as he made his way down the road to his house. Swinging his recently acquired grocery bags, the young man groped for his house key.  
  
"Aw, crud." He muttered good naturedly as he found his key but dropped a bag in the process. As he bent down to pick it up, he stopped as a hand reached down to get it for him. Goten looked up to face a handsome man, purple hair slightly covering his deep blue eyes.  
  
'Odd hair color.' Goten thought, saying outloud politely, "Thank you." The black-haired youth held out his hand expectantly to retrieve his grocery bag. Goten stared as the other man just stood there, holding his bag with an unidentifiable expression on his face.  
  
"Uhh, sir? May I please have-"  
  
"Oh, of course. Here you go." The stranger handed Goten his bag, the slightest smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "See you around. . . Goten."  
  
Goten blinked rather dumbly as the stranger seemed to disappear.  
  
"Wait! How do you know my name?" Goten called out in vain , his voice lingering in the now empty street save for himself.  
  
~~~~  
  
"Wonder what that was about." Goten said to himself as he deposited his groceries on the kitchen counter. He briefly viewed his small apartment. Yup, same as ever, no change there. Goten sighed for some unknown reason. Okay, maybe not so unknown. 'It wouldn't really hurt to have a bit more excitement in my life. . .' Goten thought wistfully as he fed his goldfish. 'All I have is a fish for company.'  
  
Goten laughed quietly as he remembered a conversation he had had with his now deceased brother Gohan.  
  
~Flashback~  
  
"Geez, little bro. You sure you're not rotting in that hermit shell there?" Gohan had joked. "Whassamatter, doncha have any girlfriends?"  
  
"Nah, don't need any." Goten had responded.  
  
"What, you sayin' you need boyfriends instead?"  
  
"WHAT?! Niichan!!"  
  
"Just kidding, just kidding!"  
  
~End Flashback~  
  
Goten chuckled again. It never occurred to him he really needed someone close to him until his brother had oh-so elegantly pointed it out. (I got nothing against Shounen-ai, so back off you close-minded people out there! But this fic isn't shounen-ai anyway unless u'd like to think of it that way)  
  
'Ah, well nothing I can do about it now.'  
  
Goten sighed as he got ready for bed.  
  
~~~~  
  
The night was silent, crescent moon shining dimly on the streets. A young lavender haired man sat crouching silently in a sturdy tree planted right next to the window of an apartment room. The only movement he made was the narrowing of his eyes as the azure orbs fixed themselves on the silhouette of a wild-haired man standing inside.  
  
The stranger mentally smirked, thoughts completely focused on the task at hand.  
  
'You're mine, Goten.'  
  
~~~~  
  
Red. All he could see was red. It was everywhere. . .everywhere! Blood? No. . .it wasn't blood. It couldn't be. There was no blood on his hands, and he planned to keep it that way. What is all this red?  
  
"Rage. It is your rage, Son Goten."  
  
Rage?  
  
Suddenly, all surroundings were engulfed in a bright burst of yellow flames. Power. Strength. -Rage-.  
  
"Ah!" Goten's eyes snapped open, cold sweat running down his pale face. Gasping, he clutched his beating heart. 'I haven't had that dream for a while. Why did I have it now? The last time I did was when otosan (father) died, but that was over five years ago!' With a troubled mind the youth rarely acquired, Goten drifted back into a dreamless sleep.  
  
~~~~  
  
"Well, that certainly went well." Goten muttered bad-temperedly. Today definitely wasn't his day. . .first, waking up on the cold floor without a blanket to keep him warm, then finding out his coffee maker was broken, then misplacing his car keys so he ended up being late to work.  
  
"I don't even like my job." Goten mumbled to no one in particular. Goten worked at a small private greenhouse, making medicine juices simply by grinding them and generally assisting here and there. It wasn't the best of jobs, but it paid enough to support his apartment expenses. At least the co- workers were somewhat friendly to an extent.  
  
The weary black-haired young man sighed, letting out his frustrations in that one breath. 'I wish life were that simple.' he thought wistfully as he continued his evening walk. So caught up in his thoughts, he didn't notice where he was going until his attention was caught by whirring sounds.  
  
Turning, Goten spotted a young man practicing with a sword some few yards away in a nearby park. Curious, Goten walked closer to watch. Recognition, however, made him halt to an abrupt stop.  
  
'Wait a minute. . .that's the same man I met on my way home from grocery shopping!' As Goten pondered this coincidence, he watched, slightly nervously, as the stranger stopped his training and turned- to look straight at him. Goten was even more creeped out when the purple haired lad smirked ever so slowly, the expression sending chills up and down the young man's spine. Not bothering to be polite like he usually would have, Goten immediately whirled around, trying to get as far away as possible from the strange man.  
  
Finally, near a small candy store Goten stopped, heart beating, legs tired, and quite a deal more frightened than before. Was it just coincidence that he met the same man twice? And that the stranger seemed to know him?  
  
'Does he want something from me?'  
  
~~~~  
  
Cold blue eyes narrowed once more, zeroing in on the same target watched all day as Goten ran. The deadly sword was lowered as the man relaxed, breathing deeply.  
  
'You can run, but you can't hide.'  
  
~~~~  
  
"Stupid fish." Goten muttered, casting a dark glare at the dead fish floating in the tank. Not that it made much of a difference, but Goten didn't care at the moment. Mumbling incoherent words, the young man grimaced as he scooped up his dead companion and dumped it in the trashcan. Goten hated dead things, even if it was just a small goldfish.  
  
A soft tap on the window caused Goten to quickly turn, startled. He debated with himself whether he truly did see that small flash of purple. . .oh well, it wasn't important. Goten shrugged, annoyed with himself for being so jumpy. 'So I saw that guy twice. . .what's the big deal? It doesn't mean anything.'  
  
Suddenly feeling thirsty, Goten walked to the cupboard to grab a cup. A glass one was selected, and he made his way to the refrigerator.  
  
Too bad he never got there.  
  
Goten barely let out a startled shriek as a hand descended down to cover his mouth. The last thing he comprehended was the shattering of his drinking cup as it was dropped. Then, a blow was dealt to his head and Goten knew no more. 


	2. Capture and Escape

Chapter 2  
  
~Captured~  
  
"Uhhhhn. . . Groggily blinking his eyes open, Goten groaned as he moved his aching limbs. He gasped as white-hot pain suddenly raced through his leg. The young man carefully moved his foot experimentally, only to find a sprained ankle. To make matters worse, his head throbbed painfully from the blow he had received.  
  
A blurry figure hovered in his line of vision. Goten squinted as the vision cleared, croaking out in a hoarse voice. "What. . .?"  
  
"I suggest you don't move, Goten, otherwise you'll feel a lot worse than you do right now." A familiar deep rich voice spoke. Goten squinted again to see the purple-haired man.  
  
"W-what do you want? Who are you?" Goten stuttered out.  
  
"That is none of your concern."  
  
Indignation began to bubble up inside Goten, despite his position. "What do you mean, 'it's none of my concern'? Of course it is, seeing as *I'm* the one abducted here!" Goten snapped. Suddenly, he moaned as his ankle and head began to throb again.  
  
The stranger smirked. "Such attitude will only get you into further trouble. But if you must know, my name is Trunks. What I want with you cannot be revealed."  
  
"Let me go! I did nothing to you!" Goten ignored his now excruciatingly painful ankle and pushed himself up into a standing position. Glaring in what he hoped was a menacing manner (which most likely wasn't judging from the sniggering coming from Trunks), Goten attempted to walk past the man.  
  
Before he barely took two steps, a hand smoothly caught Goten's arm and squeezed. Hard.  
  
As the black-haired man cried out in pain, hardened blue eyes bored through soft ebony ones. "You are not to go anywhere. Or you will face the consequences." Goten shuddered at the suddenly icy tone. He nodded slightly, and his arm was released. 'But I'm still leaving eventually.' Goten thought rebelliously.  
  
"How did my ankle get sprained?" Goten asked while rubbing his now sore arm. Geez, he had enough injuries here! No need for him to make it worse!  
  
Trunks shrugged dismissively as he turned to leave. "I dropped you while flying here. You were thrashing quite distractedly even in your state of unconsciousness. I suggest you rest and regain your strength. You'll definitely need it."  
  
"For what?" No answer. "Wait a minute, you *flew* here?" Goten asked incredulously. But Trunks was gone.  
  
~~~~  
  
After a few minutes of waiting for his headache to lessen, Goten slowly stood on his feet, wincing as he attempted to keep weight off his injured ankle. Looking around, Goten finally took in his surroundings.  
  
He seemed to be in a small cottage of some sorts. Looking out the glass- less window (Goten mournfully noted that it was too small to escape through), Goten could see vast meadows and land extending as far as his eye could see. No other sign of civilization was seen.  
  
Goten plopped back down onto a small chair, very much discouraged. Here he was, injured and isolated, in a hut located in the middle of nowhere with a crazy man claiming he could fly. And above all that, he was hungry.  
  
'This can't get any worse.'  
  
BOOM!!!  
  
Apparently, it could.  
  
Scuttering as fast as his ankle allowed to the window, Goten peered out and nearly fainted at the sight.  
  
Trunks was training, which was normal enough, only he was training by throwing what seemed to be beams of light that exploded when contacted with something.  
  
Goten stumbled back, dazed. Trunks seemed to notice his audience and flew -Goten openly gaped- yes, *flew* over.  
  
The younger man dearly wished he could wipe that always-present smirk off of Trunks' face as the other man leaned in on the windowsill.  
  
"Feeling better?"  
  
Goten glowered, forgetting his fear of Trunks' mysterious powers. "Yes, no thanks to you." Trunks feigned a hurt expression.  
  
"Not that you truly care, anyway." Goten added.  
  
Trunks burst out laughing at Goten's attempts to be intimidating. The younger man pondered how that laugh sounded so nice. . .if not coming from the man who just kidnapped him for apparently no reason.  
  
"Aren't we the rebellious one." Trunks smirked - 'Does he ever stop?!'- and leaned further in.  
  
Suddenly, Goten remembered what he just witnessed of Trunks' strange abilities and immediately regretted his words. He backed away fearfully, hoping his death would be quick and painless.  
  
"What, scared of me?" The purple haired man (no, Goten concluded, he wasn't a man. . .he had to be some android or something, having all those weird powers. Or an alien maybe.) slowly held a hand up and produced a small ball of light.  
  
Goten, entranced by seeing such an odd display so close up, didn't say anything.  
  
Trunks continued. "I could easily kill you right here with this little ball of energy. You saw what this can do while I was training. But I won't take your life, as it is against my orders to. But if you push me," he warningly held up his hand, "I won't hesitate use this. After all, I cannot kill you. But imagine what other things I can do. And I assure you, they aren't very pleasant."  
  
~~~~  
  
Goten nearly cried (ignoring the fact that grown men weren't supposed to cry) as he curled up with a thin blanket on the floor. After that frightening little speech from his captor, he had tried everything to escape. The door was locked, the window too small, the room too secure. And here he was, a helpless pile of clothes that were getting dirty anyway, lying on the floor trying to keep warm. And still hungry. Goten could just imagine how pathetic he looked.  
  
For once, the young man truly felt alone. He had never felt this way since. . .Goten held the tears back no longer as he remembered the deaths of his beloved father and brother. Damn heart disease. . .  
  
Slowly, his crying ceased as the distressed young man slipped into an uneasy sleep.  
  
~~~~  
  
Leering red eyes on an unfamiliar white face. Mocking him, taunting him, scorning him. A flash of purple. . .then it briefly disappeared, a cry of pain and sorrow immediately following. Then laughter. . .laughter following, cruel malicious downright *evil* laughter.  
  
Anger. He was so angry. Red all over, being engulfed by a brilliant golden light. Anger. He wanted revenge. He wanted see blood spurt out from that white body. He wanted to torture. He wanted to *kill*. Kill, kill, kill, kill. . .  
  
"Yah!!!" Goten jerked awake, throwing his blanket off in the process. Had he been in a bed, he would have surely fallen off. 'Not again. . .I hope these dreams aren't premonitions. . .' Sighing, Goten slowly wiped the sweat off his face and glanced out the window. There was no clock in the room, so all he had to judge by was the stars.  
  
'Well, according to the stars, it's around early early morning.' Goten mused, glad for once that his brother had managed to force *some* astronomy into his brain. He sighed again and sat up. Not feeling sleepy anymore, Goten stood to maybe try to find an escape route, though his hopes were very dim. Still cautious with his injured ankle, Goten limped over to the window.  
  
While poking round the window to see if maybe he could break down the wall, Goten didn't notice the creaking of the door and two narrowed eyes peering in.  
  
Trunks smiled mischievously, and stealthily sneaked up behind the unaware Goten. Leaning in very closely, he very softly whispered, "Boo."  
  
"AAAAAH!" Goten nearly jumped out of his own skin, clutching his frantically beating heart. He turned, frightened, only to face a laughing Trunks who was nearly suffocating in his own mirth.  
  
"Hahahaaahahaa, that, haheheehe, was, ahaha s-s-haha-so p-p-price-hehahaaha- less hahahaa!!"  
  
"Well, I'm glad you find this funny!" Goten snapped, very much peeved at being laughed at, and slightly embarrassed to have been frightened so easily. He watched in interest, however, as Trunks regained his breath. The purple haired man's eyes seemed to hold no coldness at that one moment; no, now they sparkled with amusement, not unlike a little kid who just had a good laugh.  
  
But as soon as that came, it vanished. The blue eyes returned to their icy state and his genuine smile once again twisted into a spiteful grin.  
  
"So what exactly were you doing by that window?"  
  
"Er, um, I , that is, just admiring the stars!" Goten scratched the back of his head, laughing awkwardly.  
  
Although it was a simple gesture, Trunks seemed to think otherwise. Something akin to shock flashed across his handsome features. Goten stared up at him curiously, lowering his hand.  
  
"What-" Goten was rudely interrupted by the rumbling of his stomach. Both men stared down at the offending noisemaker, the younger hunching his shoulders sheepishly.  
  
"Um. . .I'm hungry?"  
  
~~~~  
  
Trunks stared as the other continued to stuff his face. The other was beginning to trigger memories. . .but that couldn't be possible! They had never met before until Trunks began to stalk him. So why. . .  
  
"Ca ah hab shumting ta dwink?" Goten mumbled, cheeks puffing out from the food still in his mouth.  
  
Trunks wrinkled his nose in disgust at the bad table manners. But then again, it *had* been nearly a day since he had eaten. "What did you say?"  
  
Goten swallowed, nearly choking in the process. "Can I have something to drink?" He inquired.  
  
"Hn." Trunks rose and left to the kitchen, remembering to lock the door so as to prevent escape.  
  
'Damn. I was hoping he'd forget that.' Goten thought.  
  
A few minutes later, the purple haired lad returned with a small water bottle which Goten accepted. 'For a captor, he isn't so bad. At least he didn't lock me in some gringy cell with food fit for rats.'  
  
Trunks continued to watch his charge curiously. He continued to ponder the sudden feelings of familiarity. 'Where did I see this before?'  
  
Goten sighed contentedly after finishing off the water. He turned to thank Trunks (even though he was some psychotic kidnapper) but stopped at the odd expression the other man was giving him.  
  
"Uh. . .Trunks?"  
  
A glazed look seemed to have taken over the older man's eyes, lips pursed in a thoughtful gesture.  
  
"Trunks?" Goten waved a hand in front of his face, rewarded with a startled "Huh?"  
  
"Um. . .didn't know you thought so hard."  
  
Trunks gave Goten a glance which the black haired youth was unable to interpret. Goten shifted nervously as the sharp blue eyes fixed themselves once more with his own eyes.  
  
Ignoring the other's obvious discomfort, Trunks stared at the man in front of him. Memory flashes of another man. . .similar in appearance, began to resurface after being buried for such a long time.  
  
A tall man. . .black hair, like Goten's. . .not as wild. He had a friendly voice, friendly attitude, dark eyes, Pale skin. Just like Goten. His name. . .his name. What was his name?  
  
A sharp cry suddenly broke his thoughts. With a start, Trunks realized he had grabbed Goten's shoulder and squeezed harder as he delved deeper into his memories. Releasing his shoulder, Trunks' face slid back into its expressionless mask.  
  
Goten rubbed irritably at his shoulder, glaring at the one responsible. "What was that for?!"  
  
Seething when he didn't receive an answer, Goten barely restrained himself from attacking the man. The nerve of him! He was already injured. . .yet the baka took no mind to that when he hurt his shoulder for no good reason!  
  
'That's it.' Goten fumed, fed up with his predicament. His eyes lit up with glee as he realized Trunks had forgotten to lock the door this time. Must've been too deep in thought.  
  
Goten bided his time patiently, waiting for Trunks to fall back asleep (remember, it was nighttime). After waiting for what seemed like hours, but was only 30 minutes, Goten limped to the door and peeped out.  
  
Luck was with him as he spotted Trunks snoring blissfully away on a rather large couch. Goten nearly tripped from his ankle in his excitement, but managed to catch himself in time. Cursing his injury, he tiptoed past the couch, warily watching for any signs of awakening. Unfortunately, this meant he wasn't paying attention to where he was going and Goten clumsily tripped over something long. . .and rather sharp.  
  
Gasping with pain, both from his ankle and the wound inflicted by the object he had tripped over, Goten realized it was Trunks' sword.  
  
'That idiot! Leaving something like that lying around!' Goten listened to see if Trunks had awoken. All he hears was his continuous snore and some occasional mumblings.  
  
Breathing a silent sigh that he was safe, Goten ignored the blood running down his leg and quickly limped away. He reached a window which *was* big enough for him to crawl through. Clumsily climbing out, Goten grimaced as he was able to see his wound from the moonlight streaming in. 'I'll fix that later.'  
  
Successful, Goten dropped to the ground nearly whooping with joy at his escape, but quickly set off.  
  
After about ten minutes of painful walking, Goten sat down very much discouraged. He had forgotten about how he was supposed to reach civilization from this isolated place. He couldn't very well walk the whole way with a sprained ankle! Not to mention he didn't know which way to go! "Some plan." Goten muttered darkly to himself.  
  
Sighing, Goten got back up and trudged on. He was beginning to feel the walk's tool on him, and his leg was beginning to hurt even more.  
  
Suddenly, he whirled around fearfully, hearing enraged shouting behind him.  
  
Although he already knew who it was.  
  
"You stupid baka! Get back here now!" Trunks roared angrily, flying at an amazing speed.  
  
Goten wasted no more time staring, as he ran as fast as he could. Breath hitching up in fear, Goten nearly fainted form his ankle but doggedly kept on, knowing what might happen if he were caught.  
  
"Goten!"  
  
"NO!" Goten screamed without turning his head back. "I refuse to be restrained like. . .like and animal!"  
  
So panicked was he that he didn't notice that the ground ended a few feet ahead. . .and kept running.  
  
"Goten! Stop!"  
  
Too late. Goten felt his foot slipping and looked down in horror. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He screamed as he fell down the cliff, body being hurled about while crashing upon rocks and branches. Landing with a *whumf* on a large rock sticking out, Goten was barely conscious.  
  
Through his hazy vision, Goten saw Trunks floating down. The old panic returned and he weakly scrabbled to get away.  
  
However, it was no use as Trunks gently - *gently*! Goten wondered - lifted him up, still struggling feebly.  
  
Barely registering the other's words, Goten slowly welcomed the descending darkness.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
BWAHAHAHAA! Bet you thought Goten wuz gonna escape, didn't ya? And ruin the fun? Yeah rite!  
  
Ahem. Hope this chappie wasn't so bad. Review please!^^ 


End file.
